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Guest Author & Giveaway: Heather Lire

by Mlissa | Feb 6, 2013 | Guest blogs

Love at First Sight and Crappy Proposals.

I’ve always loved romance stories where the hero and heroine fall in love at first sight, and have the most romantic proposals. Even before I met my husband I loved those stories. Then I met my husband and while it wasn’t love at first sight it was most definitely like at first sight.

We were a blind date. We met on Sunday for our blind which thank goodness was a group date, and went out by ourselves three nights later, and then again the next night. That night we knew we were it for it each other, and we were going to get married.

Fast forward two and half months and the church was booked, the wedding dress bought, the wedding invitations ordered and we still weren’t engaged.

Yes you read that right, we still weren’t engaged. In case I haven’t blown your mind enough already the wedding was in six weeks. It had become a running joke amongst our friends and family that he was going to get down on one knee just before the wedding and propose.

Valentine’s Day came and DH took me to one of the most romantic restaurants. I was positive that he was going to FINALLY propose. All throughout dinner I kept waiting. Here we were in an intimate setting with a roaring fire and everything a guy could want to make a proposal. And NOTHING. We left the restaurant and I was so disappointed. The temperature had dropped considerably and I was freezing so I practically ran to the car. Just as I got to my door he calls me to the front of the car and I hear a package rip open. I go to him, my teeth are chattering and he tells me, I’m not getting down on my knee but will you marry me. I mumbled yes, he shoved a ring on my finger then I bolted for the car door.

*Hey wait a minute I have to interject here…when I dropped her off at home that night her room was covered in rose petals and she had two dozen long stem red roses.*

So you made up for the crappy proposal by giving my sister money to do that..can I have my post back now?

Yes…

Thank you…now where was I? Oh yeah…

It has been fourteen years this month since that horrible proposal, and while the proposal sucked it has made for a great story in our family.

Because my proposal sucked rocks, when it came time to write the proposal in Second Chance at Forever I decided I wanted to write the proposal I always dreamed of receiving, and then I told DH my heroine was getting my proposal. He laughed and then asked, but more importantly is she getting the marriage you got.

I thought about that and the story of Ryan and Morgan and I thought yes, yes they will have the marriage I have. It isn’t perfect, we fight, we make up, but most of all throughout all of it we love. And that is what is at the heart of this story. Ryan and Morgan meet, fall in love, and then are separated. There are hurt feelings and anger, but underneath it all is love. As they work through everything the one thing they can’t deny is that they still love each other.

I want to thank Lissa for having me on today.

Second Chance at Forever available in Digital Only February 1^st 2013

Blurb:

When Morgan Sanderson left her grandparent’s anniversary party, she had no idea how much the previous week would impact her life. Four years later she’s living a content life, teaching literature and being the best mom she can be, even if she knows something is missing. That thing being the one person she can’t forgive and yet can’t get over.

The week Ryan Cartwright spent with Morgan was the best week of his life until tragedy struck, one that changed his life completely. Four years later he discovers he’s has three year old twins with Morgan the one woman he’s never been able to forget and let go. Can he forgive her from keeping the knowledge of his son’s from him.

As they uncover the truth behind their separation, they discover the love they’ve always felt for each other is still there, but can they ever trust each other again.

Excerpt:

Morgan relaxed in the hammock her grandfather had hung for her mom back when she was a teenager, far from the week-long house party celebrating her grandparents’ sixtieth wedding anniversary, reading one of her favorite books, Pride and Prejudice.

There was just something about Mr. Darcy that made her want to be Elizabeth. Completely engrossed in the book, she didn’t notice she was no longer alone.

She heard a twig snap and lifted her head, looking around for the noise. Her breath caught in her lungs. Her heart raced.

A modern-day Mr. Darcy had just walked out of her book.

He was gorgeous.

Tall, he stood at least six-foot-four, as he looked to be as tall as her brother, Case. His skin was golden brown from spending lots of time outside in the sun. His hair was light brown with streaks of blond, more from the sun than from any salon. It was his face, however, that captured her — all angles and planes, a strong jaw, and high cheekbones hinting at an Aristocratic ancestry. And then his eyes, so brown and piercing, they made her think he could look into her soul. He wore shorts and a tee shirt, showing a physique that said he took care of his body. The tee shirt pulled across his chest and was tight around the biceps, enhancing the well-toned muscles.

He stopped next to the hammock and looked down at her, like he was examining something under a microscope. She’d long since grown used to the way men looked at her and her sister, Brynn.

At five-foot-ten they were taller than most of the woman in the family. According to her grandpa, her eyes were the color of the purple-grey heather flower in Ireland. She also had no real chest to speak of. The running joke in the family had always been, she wanted a hope chest in the hope she would get a chest. As she’d played basketball all throughout high school and during her undergrad years, she wasn’t too upset about the lack of chest, it would have just gotten in the way of her jump shot. She arched an eyebrow at him as he continued to stare at her without saying anything.

“I believe the party is back toward the house, not out here.” Morgan’s voice was deliberately icy. She had thought, by isolating herself outside and away from the main part of the party, she could avoid socializing.

Mr. Darcy flashed a smile, one she was certain he’d used to get women to do what he wanted. He sat down on the log by her hammock, ignoring the frost in her voice. “Yes, it is and that’s why I am here. Why are you out here by yourself and not at the party?”

She ignored the smile or at least pretended to, “Because I don’t have to be. As long as I’m occasionally seen, I can do what I want.”

As he extended his hand the corners of his lips lifted, revealing dimples she hadn’t seen before. “Ryan Cartwright.”

She took his hand and felt the sizzle all the way to her bones. “Morgan Churchill.” The way her body was reacting to him was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

“What are you reading?” He asked.

She held up her book. “Pride and Prejudice, hmm.” He then eyed the pile of books sitting on a stump by him. She watched silently as he read the titles, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, North and South, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Little Women. He raised an eyebrow. All of them were full of sticky notes and tabs, marking important places in them. “That is some reading you’re doing there.”

“Yes, it is some reading, so if you don’t mind I have to finish reading these books and complete my dissertation on the influence of nineteenth century heroes in modern literature by the end of the week.” Morgan went back to her book, giving him the illusion she’d just tuned him out, when in fact she was only too aware of him. He had an aura about him that made a woman dream of very naughty nights in his bed, one that screamed he knew all the secrets to a woman’s pleasure.

She had two passions, three if you counted her family — basketball and literature. Having achieved all of her basketball goals, she was now hard at work on her literature goal — to be a professor of literature.

She didn’t have time to be distracted by a real life Mr. Darcy.

He sat there a bit stunned at the way she had dismissed him. She was certain it was a first for him. After several minutes he stood and wandered away. She went back to her reading, breathing in a deep sigh of relief.

The next day, every time she looked up from her books, there he was staring at her, as though he was trying to figure her out. Considering how large her grandparents’ property was, this was no small feat. A part of her was a bit disconcerted by it, and another part of her was secretly thrilled. She’d managed to snag the attention of the sexiest man she’d ever met by ignoring him. Maybe all those lectures from her sister and cousins on how to snag a guy that she’d ignored, had sunk in.

Giveaway: I’m giving away a copy of Second Chance at Forever in either pdf, mobi or nook. Just leave a comment using the Rafflecopter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bio: Heather Lire has been telling stories for as long as she has been talking, at least according to her mother. After years spent in academia Heather was encouraged to share the stories she was writing and sending to her sister with the rest of the world.

When she isn’t writing – which is never – she can be found attending whatever sport her sons are playing at that time, accompanying her husband on his photo shoots and playing online.

For more information on Heather and what she’s currently working on please visit her website www.heatherlire.com

Second Chance at Forever is her debut novel.

Places to Find her around the internet:

www.heatherlire.com

www.facebook.com/heatherlire

www.twitter.com/heatherlire

www.pinterest.com/heatherlire/

www.goodreads.com/heatherlire